The Belleville High School varsity football team was the main focus of last weekend’s Winter Fest in Belleville.
Instead of just Santa getting the Key to the City from the mayor, Bryce Underwood, BHS quarterback, also got a second Key to the City. Santa’s key was wooden and Bryce’s key was metal. Both had to give the keys back to the chamber for use another year. Usually just Santa gets the key.
It’s not unusual for the BHS football team to march together in a parade, but this time it was extra special.
The team didn’t win the state title this year, so that wasn’t what the hoopla was about. They won state titles back to back in other years. What brought all the attention this year was that BHS senior Bryce Underwood changed his January 2024 commitment to University of Louisiana and last week officially signed to play at the University of Michigan. This was after U of M supporters reportedly offered him $10.5 million over four years to play at the school.
This was on the front page of The Detroit Free Press on Dec. 5, the day after he signed, and even in The Wall Street Journal.
One observer noted that all this football excitement has brought attention to Belleville and now everyone knows where Belleville is – just down the road from U of M and our former star quarterback.
Editor’s Note: This editorial was changed to remove a statement that BHS varsity football coach Calvin Norman was grand marshal of the parade. He was not grand marshal and we apologize for the error. The grand marshals were Leonard Armstrong and Aleisa Pitt and the chamber will release information on them next week.